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Saturday, February 21, 2009

I've realized (once again) that I am not superhuman, so I've ceased attempting to learn multiple languages at once, instead learning one at a time. After all, I have other endeavors and work to do throughout the day. If I can use half an hour every day to listen to the eAudiobook, I should be able to converse in Dutch (like a four year old with language development issues, that is) in about a week.

Why Dutch? 1. I have Heineken in the fridge; 2. it's a Germanic language that sort of sounds like the pseudo-German we've all been exposed to in World War II movies; and 3. English is also a Germanic language. You can Wiki all that to verify (especially the Heine in my fridge part).

The week after, I should probably shift gears to a non-European language. Thereafter, I should try a non-French/non-Spanish Romance language, like Romanian. (Insert Dracula joke here.) Maybe I should invest in a wall map of the world and throwing darts to make decisions for me.

By the time I'm done with my library's collection of Pimsleur method eAudiobooks, I should have been doing actual profitable work concurrently, so I can actually travel to the countries where those languages are spoken, either as vacation travel or business trips. Of course, by the time I'm done, I can only hope that I've profited from the ever-shifting economy. Do you see how I'm all "optimistic" about the market going lower and lower each week?

I hope I won't get bored doing this and quit. That's always a risk in trying new things on a daily basis, but I've been a "musician" since my preteen years, a "filmmaker" since my second year in college, and an almost-daily blogger since mid-2007 (not counting my Xanga days in 2003). Having not mentioned any examples that highlight my flakiness, I think consistency in on my side.

I would write what I've learned so far, but I'm learning conversational language, not literacy.